Friday, April 12, 2013
You Make Me Feel Like Dancing!
What I very calmly replied was something to the effect of, “Um, over my dead body!”
Now, I didn’t REALLY say that----at least I don’t THINK I was thinking out loud. Instead, I gave her some advice, suggestions, ideas, counsel… Since she goes to school out of state, I can’t just say, come on over, sit down and we are going to talk (some sense into you) about it. I have to accomplish powerful advisory sessions long-distance which can be a little tricky.
After talking for a few minutes, I realized the bottom line: She is burned out and doesn’t know how to handle it. Fortunately for both of us, I have been there, done that, and have a dresser full of t-shirts to prove it!
College students are certainly not the only ones that suffer from burn-out, and sometimes it is not just from keeping a busy schedule and having high expectations of themselves (and pleasing their parents). Sometimes, you just really don’t like what you are doing, and want to get out, even if you are right in the middle of something---A process, a project, a career, a college education. Or, it may be that you don’t like the subject or industry, or you don’t like the people you are around every day. You may despise chemistry (or autoCAD!), or it may just be that you aren’t crazy about the professor and his/her style of teaching. (Some classes are just impossible to make exciting and fun.) You are probably burning the candle at both ends and are just plain exhausted. You may be depressed or you may just need a break. You may be at a point where you just want to call it quits and go do something different. You may be at a point where nothing is going your way and you are tired of trying, wondering why you are spending so much time and effort doing something that isn’t producing any positive results. Day in and day out---you are frustrated that things aren’t working out the way you want them to, and the level of anxiety increases.
At this point, so many people make the biggest mistake of all: they just give up. But you can’t just throw in the towel and say, “I’m done!” You have to make a SHIFT happen, and change the way you are doing things. Shift gears and do things differently---You don’t have to completely stop what you are doing and go find something different, you just have to continue doing what you are doing in a different way. Shift your “how” and make it more fun and exciting. Change the music. Adjust your "vision." Just don't start bedazzling your beakers or using your chemistry test tubes for Saturday night’s party shooters.
2012 was a challenging year for me. It seemed that no matter how hard I tried, there were roadblocks everywhere that kept me from reaching my goals. I felt like I was taking one step forward, two steps back and it was a dance I didn’t know, or WANT to learn, for that matter! I couldn’t get the steps right to turn the dance around to rock to the beat of my kind of music! Yes, I was ready to throw in the towel and try something totally different. I felt like I had no control over my career due to the state of the economy and floundering real estate market, and I felt completely defeated. I thought maybe all the challenges were a sign that it was time to move onto something other than real estate.
However, (and fortunately for me) there were just as many roadblocks preventing me from finding something else as there were keeping me frustrated with what I was doing. I was not happy, and everyone around me knew it. I didn’t like being around myself, so I am quite sure no one else did, either.
Then I experienced shift, and it was a big one! I attended a technology and marketing class in August. The class was taught by Juanita McDowell with InMotion Real Estate Marketing, and everything changed. I re-evaluated my business, changed my vision, took a different approach, incorporated several new business techniques, and it became fun again! I realized that part of what I had been learning all these years, to focus on the parts of your job that you love and delegate or hire out the parts you don’t, I wasn’t doing. I was also getting too caught up in what was WRONG that I couldn’t do what was RIGHT! This way of thinking was all on me---I was the one in control.
I have always been a HUGE fan of continuing education, and Juanita’s class certainly didn’t disappoint---It just made me want to take even more classes! When it comes time to renew my real estate license, I always have a LOT more continuing ed credits than the state requires, but I love to learn. I take every class I can, whether it is for marketing or not. I take classes in real estate law, ethics, contracts, real estate tax, business development, environmental hazards, technology, marketing, and so on…..I am like a sponge in these classes. I think knowledge is power, and I want to seize every opportunity I can to learn what’s new in the real estate industry. Being caught like a deer in the headlights and having to say, “Um, I am not sure about that, but let me get back to you on that…..” is no fun. I need to have the answers before the question even come to mind. Technology is advancing at a staggering rate, and I don’t want to be one of the professionals in my industry that gets left behind because I didn’t stay in the know. The thing is, continuing ed is another shift that you can control and make happen! Learning new techniques, methods and trends puts more great music in the room to get you moving into a more exciting career. I attended a week long series of classes a couple weeks ago that was the first in a series of three toward getting my GRI designation. It was an all-day, every day, jam-packed-with-information experience that left me with an “information explosion” going off in my head. By the time I left on day five, I could hardly drive home---I was so excited to have so much new info that I couldn’t wait to use! We had ended the week with a motivational speaker that had me ready to jump on the table and start screaming, “I love my job!!!!” (Of course, there would be with some KC and the Sunshine Band playing loudly in the background. After all, I gotta dance, right?!?)
So you see, I actually dodged a bullet---I almost pulled the plug and left the industry I love. I felt like my daughter does right now---burned out, frustrated and ready to give up. Fortunately, though, I didn’t give up, and neither will she. I had a lot of people that believed in me and had the confidence that I would get through it. In the long run, life is just a series of choices. Each choice either takes you closer to your goals, or leads you away from them. You can either take charge of your life or let your life and circumstances take charge of you. But by taking charge, you put yourself in the driver’s seat, and you will prosper as a result.
And of course…..you will dance!
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